Moving memories and mice

So this isn't the cabinet that we moved but since I am a total loser when it comes to cutting and pasting my pictures on this blog......anyway, I bought/won this p.e. locker room metal basket shelving unit at my kids' school auction for $41. Pricey for me, yes, but it was for a good cause. I have been meaning to take a poll of our 19 (yes, 19!) followers for their opinion of uses of said shelves. Presently it is holding shoes and sports equipment. Pantry? Crafts, if I actually was crafty? Stuffed animals bought for 25 cents at yard sales? (I think mine have figured out how to reproduce. My house is overrun).




Here are the pictures that are supposed to be on top. Here is the lead paint-covered, brown recluse habitating, mouse-loving cabinet.

Here is the top piece with painted glass. A shout out to my pal at St. Louis Restoration, Brett, proud propieter, who managed to get the paint off the glass as well.

Can't you just see the potential?

Readers, if you have a varmint-infested wooden object in your possession (or in your neighbor's garage, for that matter), please visit Brett. He is magical with his stripping agents! (Can't steal Nancy's thunder here with the stripping inuendo). (Pam, I still need to make a donation for this cabinet. I am a dastardly cheap louse, I know. Forgive me).

I will not be yard saling tomorrow, nor Saturday, sadly. I am assured Nancy will continue to amaze and astound us with her ability to abscond with an array of articles and artifacts.

Furniture Rehab

To appreciate this blog you must first read "Pam's Old Stuff" from November 2009.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Now you are reminded of Laura's ability to see a diamond in the rough and our shared ability to move incredibly heavy things between houses. Also, you are reminded that Daughter-of-Lady-who-Bought-the-Crock hates my guts.

I mention all this because the cabinet Laura rescued from Pam's garage has had a make over! Well, so far it's really just a trip to the spa or something, because it is stripped to bare wood (by a professional stripper! Ha! Did she take it to Larry Flint's?) but not dolled up with fresh stain or polyurethane or anything. It's actually still sort of disassembled.

It is regrettable that there was no one on the street that day in November to take our picture. It would have been a grand photo for the blog because we were in prime form: Laura (petite little Italian girl) and Nancy (largish Nordic girl) both laughing all the way down the Boulevard... Hudson whining his head off... the cabinet perched precariously atop a very rusty Radio Flyer... flakes of lead paint flying off the cabinet with the slightest breeze... generations of brown recluse spiders scurrying deeper into the cabinet's rotted crevasses.

This is an artist's rendition of the scene:

And this is the cabinet now, stripped and clean, sitting in Laura's garage, ready for its make-over:

The stripper (giggle giggle!) said this is an excellent early 1900s piece and could be worth big bucks once it is finished. But Laura has a lot of work ahead of her. The stripper (snort!) is from St. Louis and was smitten with our neighborhood. Laura quickly pointed out all the lovely homes for sale. Did she put in a plug for the blog? Let's hope.

The signs are already out for Friday's sales. We'll be skivving at 7AM. See ya' tomorrow, Readers!

Genius!

Readers:
She is fearless.
She is fancy.
She is fez-festooned.
She is Nancy.

Geri!

Dear God! I forgot to tell you about Geri!

I first met Geri last year at the rummage sale in downtown Belleville at PSOP. I don't remember what that stands for:

Preservation of Seriously Old People?

Party Society of Older Persons?

Partially Sane Older People?

I don't know.

(Oh, Geri, I'm just kiddin' ya!)

Readers will remember Geri from the post of October 2, 2009. She tricked me into buying a whole bucket of costume jewelry for 5 bucks. In October, she was a sassy redhead with a flair for marketing!

But now she is a Sassy Silver Goddess will an eye for a bargain!

Her friend tells me Geri's daughter was way more grey than Geri, so Geri opted for silver as to not out-do her daughter. This is a demonstration of selflessness to which we should all aspire. For instance, when my daughter, who is now 8, starts to sprout boobies someday, I will not wear tight fitting clothes that flaunt my womanly figure! I will cloak myself in tunics and muumuus so that she may enjoy the limelight!

Geri remembered me right away as the crazy girl who bought all the jewelry. We shared the asphalt at two sales today... I will watch for you, Geri. You remain a formidable opponent in the bargain-hunting sphere.

OK. That's really all I have to report from today's adventure.

(Reader, you now I'm kidding, right? About the QP/BlSac rivalry? And about my competition with Geri? You know I'm kidding just about all the time? That's sort of the point of the blog: to attend the sales and remark on their weirdness while recognizing the weirdness in myself. I suppose if you don't get it {like Crock Lady's Daughter maybe?} you hate it and tune out. But for those of you who UNDERSTAND... just wait until next week!)

Nancy, out.

Midnight in the Garden of QP and BlSac

We experienced some serious Belleville inter-Catholic rivalry today! Both Blessed Sacrament (BlSac) and Queen of Peace (QP -- not to be confused with QT!) held their annual rummage sales. Both started officially at 8AM but QP offered early birds special access at 7AM for the low cost of only 2 dollars. I had 4 tag-alongs so I was wary of starting early. A $10 fee for the 7AM access is pretty steep for a church rummage sale. Luckily the kids were free. I'm sure the QP people figured the kids would only encourage me to buy more than I would have if I were alone.

We arrived at QP at 7:02.

Readers, the sale simply sparkled.

The clothes were folded neatly and stacked tidily.

The glassware gleamed.

The stuffed animals were set in a very becoming arrangement.

The staff was alert and helpful, serving under the watchful eye of Kim, their leader.

Kim and her staff were enthusiastic about the blog. The staffer at the jewelry counter helped me search for alphabet jewelry for my collection. (You may recall I am trying to collect the entire alphabet in costume jewelry? It is much more difficult than I thought it would be!) Even after I had completed my search of the jewelry table and moved on to the footwear department, the jewelry lady tracked me down and called out to me, "I found an A for only 25 cents!" This is top notch service for a rummage sale, don't you think? A personal shopper?! Dang.

As I perused the tables for treasure, I was offered a bag no less than three times. I didn't even need a flippin' bag! But Kim had apparently inspired these workers to such a high level of excellence that they could only follow me around offering to unload me of my rummage burden.

I found some very colorful pumps in a rather loud pattern. I tried them on but they were a tad too small. (Henry suggested I lose some weight in my feet.) Later I found a matching handbag in the purse department! I called to Kim and said, "You should put this by the matching shoes!" She replied, "We already thought of that! But we figured, if you liked the shoes, you would easily recognize the handbag!"

See?! See how savvy she is at marketing and display?

So I bought some clothes. Donny bought this tie:

I bought a beautiful glass pitcher which will be gift at the wedding party I attend next Saturday for two friends who are re-marrying and have said, "Pleasepleaseplease, no gifts." They don't mean it, right? You get married, you get gifts. I don't care what the circumstances are. (I can say all this because, although the couple should be following the blog, the are not!)

Anyhow... I bought this beautiful artifact for 2 dollars.

When I bought it I had no idea what sort of device it was. It has 8 gears which interact in a compact, 7 inch footprint, to accomplish some sort of carving, rotating task. Based on its condition, I would say it is approximately one bazillion years old. That's just a guess. I'm no Antiques Roadshow.

But guess what it is?! Right! It's an apple peeler!

You need to know that twice I have paid over 25 dollars for the Pampered Chef version of this tool and twice I have given it away because I never used it. But this one is special! It is old and rusty! We have already used it and forced our son, Donny, to consume a peeled, rusty apple! Hooray!

At the QP sale, JoJo and Amelia found some great Polly Pocket housing for which I kicked in a few bucks. Later in the day it occupied them for hours. Money well-spent.

QP had brownies for sale at the exit. More money well-spent because it bought the kids some energy for the next hour...

...at BlSac! We arrived at BlSac at 8:07, a mere 7 minutes after it's opening. But Reader, it was not sparkly. It pains me to tell you that the BlSac was not as beautiful as the QP sale. I have many good friends who are BlSac people. I love that BlSac is a pillar of Belleville's West End. But their sale was not as good as QP's.

Now don't get all upset, Mary Barger.

Mary is my friend. She used to be my neighbor. I admire her taste and her decorating talents. I have been to her personal garage sale many times and have decorated my entire basement with Barger cast-offs. But, Mary, I weep when I say this, the BlSac sale was a little bit rougher than the QP sale. The clothes were a little messier, the clientele a little shadier. A fellow shopper actually hit me up for a handout.

Maybe BlSac just has so many more donations that they can't get all the stuff laid out neatly?! Maybe BlSac's prices are lower so more people who need a rummage sale attend it?!

Maybe BlSac knows that it's all about raising cash and not about societal standing?!

I don't know. But with these two sales on the same day, in this little community, only a few miles apart, the comparison is too tempting not to make.

(Full disclosure: I was a co-chair of the rummage sale at our public school last February. We didn't have enough tables, our signs were weak, our stuff was cluttered, and probably we were rude. The BlSac sale kicks our public school ass! I'm not judging here -- just reporting on what I see.)

At the BlSac sale, Henry found this wonderful hat:

I bought a chip-n-dip bowl and a small cutting board which I like very much.

They had an army of blue school desks for sale:

I am reminded of the Brave Little Toaster Going to Mars.

As I scoured the clothing tables with a fellow shopper (who is a beauty school employee and enthusiastic about the blog), we uncovered this:

We were clearly in the clothes department. There were no other wigs or eyewear in the vicinity. It appears that someone removed her wig and her glasses so she could try on a blouse and then left them there when she moved on to the knick-knack department. Very curious. Very curious indeed.

(An interjection: I kicked off my summer reading this year with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, a hard-back book I bought at a yardsale earlier this spring for a quarter. It is a non-fiction tale of Savannah, Georgia. The Savannah Berendt experienced is a small town, full of beautiful houses and natural beauty, riddled with wild characters who drink too much and know everyone else's business. This is shockingly like the neighborhood in which I live!)

After BlSac, I dropped JoJo and Amelia off at home to play with their new Polly Pocket habitat. Henry and Donny agreed to remain on the hunt for all things weird and wonderful.

(Note: Matt, Louie, and Oscar were at a special Boy Scout event in Forest Park in St. Louis. Whatever. Get your priorities straight.)

So we hit a few skivs. I had no map or list to work from. We drove down the major roads and looked for bold, neon signage.

There was a gem of a sale on Main Street, across from Ace. That's where I found the letter "N" for my alphabet. They also had this collection of US President figurines for just 4 dollars:

It was so old, the most recent president was JFK. I should have bought it, right? Maybe I'll go back tomorrow and knock on the door...

Then we found a development in Shiloh/Swansea with a zillion sales. They were everywhere. But we had to do a few drive-bys because, as you may know, when the sales are in a newish development, the stuff if also newish. We passed on a lot of strollers and bouncy seats. There was a time, Reader, when I coveted a low-priced Exersaucer. But now I am so far past the triple stroller period that my stomach does a little heave whenever I see one. It could be a heave of longing or a heave of disgust, I don't know. But the stroller years are thankfully behind me and I am on to bigger things, like girlfriends, high school, and clothing in men's sizes...

Near the end of the day I found these chairs:

They were deep purple and deep velvet. Don't you just want to reach out and touch them?! At this sale I bought a lovely clock for my patio area. I offered full-price ($15!) on the condition that I could use the bathroom. (This is bad yardsale form -- I know, I know-- but when you gotta go...)

So I was welcomed into the Home of the Purple Chairs. Reader, it was the fanciest home I have ever entered. The walls were deep purple, mustard, and sage. The furnishings were grand, supple, and lush. I think the lady who lived there was so fancy she must certainly be a princess from another land. I was too intimidated to take a photograph. I regret my weakness terribly. You deserve to see this interior. I may try to return to the scene and get an exclusive interview with this ex-pat monarch.

I leave you with this photo of a cookie jar. It disturbed me so much that I have to share it. My hope is that you will be bothered as much as I was and somehow share the burden.

See you next week.

Oh, God. Where should I start?!

I will start with tonight...

Like ships passing in the night, my husband and I have been parenting all week long at the expense of our delightful marriage. So tonight we had a date. We went into downtown Belleville to The Wine Tap, a narrow storefront with lovely ambience, both indoors and out, a small yet delicious menu, and an EXTENSIVE collection of beers and wines.

I owe props to BILL, the only server in America who understands my desire for bottle caps. While he admits that I am the only customer he has ever met who selects her beer based on the design of its cap, he caters to my whims and feeds my hunger for unique caps from delicious beers. Here is my collection to date. Bill is responsible for the center pieces (the orange disc, the owl, the hand) which are indeed my pride and joy:

Alright. I need to make this snappy because I looked so smokin' hot tonight on my date that my husband is calling me to bed...

So here is the highlight of the weekend:

This is the banner for Blessed Sacrament's annual rummage sale. I had planned to camp out from 7AM on and interview all the other early birds, but, as it turns out, Queen of Peace is also having a rummage sale tomorrow! And they are offering 7AM early birds a chance to shop for only 2 dollars! Did they read my blog about the Gypsy Caravan and the $20 early bird fee?? I don't know. But for only $2, I AM THERE! I'll aim for 645 and do a few interviews. Tune in tomorrow.

I give today's yardsale adventures a C+. I had to drive into ST. Louis to get JoJo's cast off in the early morning so I didn't actually hit the sales until 9:30. That is L-A-T-E in yardsale time! I had a hard time finding some of the sales. I forgot my excellent yellow map book and didn't want to stoop so low as to use the GPS device. Despite my troubles, I found a few notable sales.

First, you must meet Shirley:

Shirley has lived an exciting life. She was selling wonderful, weird things including a gorgeous collection of vintage hats. I bought this white one for 5 bucks. Shirley modeled it for me. It was originally purchased in Florida at Ava Gabor's shop by Shirley's brother for 79 dollars!! The tag was still on it! I knew Shirley's name was Shirley before she told it to me because I did some sneaky detective work and found this name badge in the jewelry section of her yardsale:

She used to work at JCPenney!

This is Shirley's grand-daughter and her boyfriend. I think it is her boyfriend. They appear to be rather chummy and I don't think they were married. Could be her brother... I don't know.

Anyway, Shirley's grand-daughter was enthusiastic about the blog and I expect she will be our 15th follower very soon.

After that, we found a sale in downtown Belleville with excellent ambience. I didn't buy anything, but we enjoyed this koi pond:

Then we found this adorable house with a sale in back:

The proprietess of this sale had many beautiful antiques.

She had suspiciously many antiques.

I accused her of having a store.

She did indeed have a store...

She was, until recently, the proprietess of Ben's Antiques in downtown Belleville!

But that's not all!

She said her house used to be haunted! There was a female spirit who lurked about and made herself known on many occasions. Neighbors said that the original owner of the house, while she was in her kitchen preparing for her 50th anniversary party, had a heart attack and died. This woman continued to haunt the house in small but obvious ways: things would disappear, the owner saw visions, contractors heard voices... until, finally, the new owner (the lady who held today's sale and used to own Ben's Antiques) shouted, "Cut it out! I'm trying to take care of this house! If you don't stop it I will sell it to someone who wants to knock it down!" And she was never haunted again. Neighbors say she has moved on to other houses in the neighborhood.

Best of all, I found another piece for my costume jewelry alphabet. The letter F encrusted with sparkly fake diamonds was only a dollar at the haunted house sale! Yay!

Of course, we stopped at QT today.

I had taquitos (for which I paid FULL PRICE, dammit) while JoJo and Oscar had Wheat Thins and a banana. We shared 52 ounces of Diet Pepsi. Please note JoJo's two arms, cast-free.

I am hoping that this girl will join our happy blog family:

She allowed me to buy this red and orange purse if I promised to give it a happy home.

Readers! DO NOT MISS TOMORROW'S BLOG!

Do not underestimate the quality of the QP/BlSac combo!

It is a fierce one-two punch of rummaging excellence!

Until then...

I know it is only Wednesday...

But I am so inspired by our growing number of readers I feel I must re-post this gem:

Would you please go read Laura's comment following the Gypsy Caravan post? Her words are so grand and funny all at once. She's like... she's like... good at writing and stuff.

Somebody told me the St. Louisans yardsale on Wednesdays. Could this be true?! I'll check.

Blessed Sacrament's annual rummage sale is this weekend, People. It is the sale of the year in West Belleville. Make sure to check back Saturday!